France
PARIS - Men armed with steel bars and baseball bats pounded striking truckers at a roadblock in southern France, injuring three in mounting frustration over the nationwide strike.
PARIS - A French court has sentenced a news photographer and an emergency medical worker for secretly taking photographs at the scene of a 1995 bomb attack in Paris by suspected Islamic fundamentalists, justice sources said.
Thailand
BANGKOK - Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej has fallen ill due to his concern over the country's political situation and jostling among politicians for top government posts, his personal physician said.
Algeria
An activist in Algeria's former ruling National Liberation Front killed a member of the governing party during a showdown between the opposition and the government over the outcome of local elections, an Algerian newspaper said.
South Korea
SEOUL - A North Korean mine worker defected to South Korea via the western port city of Inchon, Seoul's intelligence agency said.
Russia
MOSCOW - President Boris Yeltsin fired a confrontational business tycoon from Russia's Security Council in an apparent bid to quell infighting in his administration.
MOSCOW - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev was in a hospital in Switzerland for tests on allergies that have caused skin irritations in recent months, a spokesman said.
Iran
TEHRAN - An Iranian would-be author told a family court he beat his wife and locked her up for long hours to get inspiration for his first book, a newspaper said.
China
HONG KONG - Hong Kong graft-busters have arrested six policemen, including a chief inspector, over a suspected scam involving bribes for promotion.
Belgium
BRUSSELS - European magazine publishers, seizing on Britain's decision to abandon attempts to outlaw Formula One cigarette spon-sor-ship, on Wednesday called on the European Union to stop trying to ban tobacco advertising.
Croatia
ZAGREB - A group of prominent Croatian journalists has called for an end to the government's stranglehold on state television, saying they want to turn it into an objective and open-minded public service broadcaster.
Brazil
BRASILIA - A Brazilian Catholic Church group has blasted President Fernando Henrique Cardoso for misleading the public over its policies on indigenous people, accusing the government of indifference to Indians.
Mexico
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS - Gunmen attacked a convoy of worshipers headed by controversial bishop Samuel Ruiz in the southern state of Chiapas, injuring three, newspapers reported.
Bahrain
MANAMA - Bahrain said it had arrested suspected arsonists accused of setting a four-story building on fire last week.
Australia
SYDNEY - Herbert Cole "Nugget" Coombs, considered by many to be Australia's most influential public servant, has died at age 91.
MELBOURNE - An anti-nuclear banner that made French President Jacques Chirac the butt of its cheeky humor will be auctioned off as art in Australia next week.